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| Practical Applications of Preference-Assessment Technologies for People with Severe Disabilities |
| Saturday, May 28, 2005 |
| 2:30 PM–3:50 PM |
| Stevens 1 (Lower Level) |
| Area: DDA; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Carolyn W. Green (J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center) |
| Discussant: Dennis H. Reid (Carolina Behavior Analysis and Support Center) |
| CE Instructor: Dennis H. Reid, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: Three investigations will be presented demonstrating how behavioral preference-assessment procedures can be used in practical ways to enhance life quality among people with severe disabilities and autism. In the first presentation, data will be presented showing conditions in which opinions of support staff can be used to accurately identify certain preferences of people with severe disabilities (validated through systematic assessments). Data will also be presented showing conditions in which opinions of support personnel are not likely to be accurate. In the second presentation, a practical protocol for empirically identifying work preferences will be presented. The protocol provides a means of using the most time-efficient process to identify preferences, followed by subsequent assessment processes if necessary that are more likely to identify preferences but are more time consuming. Data demonstrating the validity of the protocol will be presented based on results involving 11 workers with severe disabilities. In the third presentation, a teaching process will be presented that increases indices of happiness and reduces problem behavior occasioned by teaching programs. The process, involving embedding of preferences within teaching strategies, will be described using validation data from three behavior analytic studies. |
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| Use and Misuse of Staff Opinion to Identify Consumer Preferences |
| CAROLYN W. GREEN (J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center), Marsha B. Parsons (J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center), Dennis H. Reid (Carolina Behavior Analysis and Support Center) |
| Abstract: This presentation will present data collected with 33 support staff and 11 adults with severe disabilities concerning the accuracy of staff opinion regarding the work preferences of the consumers. Staff opinion was assessed using rankings of preferred work tasks and then validated through systematic preference assessments. Results indicated that when staff strongly agree with each other regarding most preferred work tasks, the tasks are more likely to be preferred by respective consumers relative to tasks for which the staff do not consistently agree. Results also indicated that staff are more accurate in identifying work tasks that are most disliked or nonpreferred among workers with severe disabilities and autism than they are in identifying work tasks that are highly preferred. Overall, results indicate that staff opinion of work preferences among workers with severe disabilities are likely to be accurate only under well-specified conditions. |
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| A Practical Protocol for Identifying Work Preferences Among Adults with Severe Disabilities and Autism |
| MARSHA B. PARSONS (J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center), Donna Towery (J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center), Dennis H. Reid (Carolina Behavior Analysis and Support Center), Carolyn W. Green (J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center), Lindsey P. Lattimore (J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center), Leah Brackett (J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center) |
| Abstract: This presentation will describe results of an evaluation of a protocol for identifying work preferences among adults with severe disabilities and autism. The protocol begins with the most time-efficient, systematic preference assessment (multi-stimulus without replacement), followed by less time-efficient assessment processes (e.g., paired-item assessment) that are more likely to identify work preferences but require more time to administer. Results indicated that the protocol identified work preferences for 10 of 11 participating workers with severe disabilities. Time efficiency measures supported the least-to-most time requirements of the sequential assessment processes. Data on work performance further validated the accuracy of the assessments, in that each worker consistently worked on chosen or preferred work tasks. Work tasks that were less preferred also were accompanied by more problem behavior relative to highly preferred work tasks. |
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| A Preference-Based Approach to Enhancing Learning and Reducing Problem Behavior During Teaching Sessions |
| CAROLYN W. GREEN (J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center), Dennis H. Reid (Carolina Behavior Analysis and Support Center), Jeannia Elaine Rollyson (J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center), Susan Passante (J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center) |
| Abstract: This presentation will describe a preference-based approach to teaching learners with severe disabilities. The preference-based teaching program involves presenting identified learner preferences before, during, and after teaching sessions. Results from an investigation using a multiple probe design across learners will be presented to demonstrate that the approach fosters skill acquisition while reducing problem behavior occasioned by instructions presented as part of teaching sessions. Results also demonstrate that improvements in teaching proficiency by instructors do not represent a confound to the effects of the preference-based aspect of the teaching approach, which was a concern with previous research with the program. Discussion focuses on removing the establishing operation for problem behavior by making the teaching more preferred and less aversive for learners. |
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